U.S. Should Give Rohani a Chance

June 21, 2013 2:32 p.m. ET

Regarding Sohrab Ahmari's "Behind Iran's 'Moderate' New Leader" (op-ed, June 17): Iran's President-elect Hassan Rohani, as your editorial "An Iranian Unicorn" (June 17) suggests, may not be "Thomas Jefferson in a robe," but we should still follow Jefferson's advice in dealing with him: "I hope that our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be." And that's precisely what President Obama, despite all pressures and contrary to your misperception ("desperate to find some agreement to avoid having to launch a military strike"), is trying to do.

U.S. interests can be served only through bilateral, face-to-face, consequential diplomacy and direct negotiation with the government of Iran. The two countries' common goal should be a grand deal—a tangible, verifiable and sustainable security guarantee to Iran by the U.S. and its Western allies in return for the compartmentalization or curtailment of Iran's nuclear programs, its full and unconditional support of the U.S.-backed government in Iraq and its cooperation in the Middle East.

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